halfway to mashed-potatoland

i'm three weeks post-surgery, with three weeks to go on the liquid diet.  though definitely, i'll need to move gradually into soft foods.  i took off my bands today and could barely open my mouth.  in fact i couldn't even fit my baby toothbrush between my molars to brush, i was so pathetic.  the doctor said i'll need to regain my strength and coordination because they stripped all the muscle from the bone during the surgery.  i tell you, this surgical procedure sounds more disgusting each detail i learn about it, and i'm so glad i didn't know these things before going in.

the FAQs i get are about how i'm dealing with the diet. actually, i'm not miserable, because this requires no willpower.  if it was physically possible to eat solids but i was supposed to control myself mentally, i'd be in utter turmoil.  but it's pretty easy cause i'm just like, oh well, no can do, when i think about real food.  i'm getting plenty of calories and i'm definitely not starving.  although my fridge looks pretty pitiful.

i had a eureka moment (spurred by a colleague, thank you julie) when i realized that the protruding hardware that is bugging me on my face is actually not an internal jaw-to-skull bolt, it's just the screw in my gums, which will be removed in 2 weeks or so.  so that was a big relief, i had thought it was one of the ones inside me and i might have to get surgery again to fix it.

i'm going to try to go cold turkey from ibuprofen tomorrow as i've been on a steady dose for these three weeks.  exciting news, don't you feel more enlightened? :D